New Recipes #10-11
Wow, it's been a long time since I've cooked something new, or at least since I've recorded it.
Tonight we had friends over for dinner and tried:
#10 - Duck Ragù
Ingredients
1 Tbs evoo
4 skin-on, bone-in duck legs and thighs
kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 Tbs chopped fresh sage
1 fresh bay leaf or 1/2 dried (I used ~1/2 tsp of ground)
1 cup dry Italian red wine, such as Valpolicella (I used a Coppola pinot noir)
1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes
1/2 to 1 cup lower-salt chicken broth
Directions
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the duck with salt and pepper and arrange them in the pot, skin side down. Sear until the skin is browned and crips, about 7 minutes. Turn the legs over and brown the other sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the duck to a deep platter. Pour off all but 1 Tbs of the rendered fat and discard or save for another use.
• Reduce the heat to medium low. Put the celery, garlic, onion, carrot, sage and bay leaf in the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Pour in the wine and increase the heat to high. Cook at a lively simmer for 1 minute and then reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice and 1/2 cup of the broth. Return the duck to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low or low to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and simmer until the meat is fork-tender, 1.5 to 2 hours.
• Remove the duck from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, skim the excess fat from the top of the sauce with a large spoon. (I didn't do this--instead I refrigerated it overnight and then pulled the solidified fat off before reheating.) If the sauce seems thin, continue simmering until flavorful and thickened to a saucy consistency. (The next day it seemed both chunky and thin, so I ran it through the food processor and then heated in on medium-high for about half an hour before adding the duck. At which point it seemed really dry, so I added another ~cup of broth. So less reducing next time!)
• Discard the duck skin and shred the meat. Add the shredded meat to the sauce, along with the other 1/2 cup of broth if the sauce seems too thick. Let the sauce simmer gently for 15 minutes; discard the garlic and bay leaf (I didn't). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with cooked pasta and grated cheese, if you like.
• The ragù can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
This was solidly good, but didn't blow me away. I think if I were making it for red-meat eaters, I might try adding some pork (pancetta or prosciutto) or maybe a dash of red pepper flakes. On the other hand, the spinach that I sauteed in some of the duck fat to accompany it was really, really good. Duck fat FTW!
#11 Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries from this recipe. I only made a quarter-batch of the strawberries, which was plenty. For my first panna cotta, I think it turned out very nicely. I'd like for it to have been a little firmer--not sure what the best way to do that would be. More gelatin? Let the gelatin soak longer? Thoughts?
This entry was originally posted at http://lillibet.dreamwidth.org/585349.html. You can comment either place! There are
comments over there now.
Tonight we had friends over for dinner and tried:
#10 - Duck Ragù
Ingredients
1 Tbs evoo
4 skin-on, bone-in duck legs and thighs
kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 Tbs chopped fresh sage
1 fresh bay leaf or 1/2 dried (I used ~1/2 tsp of ground)
1 cup dry Italian red wine, such as Valpolicella (I used a Coppola pinot noir)
1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes
1/2 to 1 cup lower-salt chicken broth
Directions
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the duck with salt and pepper and arrange them in the pot, skin side down. Sear until the skin is browned and crips, about 7 minutes. Turn the legs over and brown the other sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the duck to a deep platter. Pour off all but 1 Tbs of the rendered fat and discard or save for another use.
• Reduce the heat to medium low. Put the celery, garlic, onion, carrot, sage and bay leaf in the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Pour in the wine and increase the heat to high. Cook at a lively simmer for 1 minute and then reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice and 1/2 cup of the broth. Return the duck to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low or low to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and simmer until the meat is fork-tender, 1.5 to 2 hours.
• Remove the duck from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, skim the excess fat from the top of the sauce with a large spoon. (I didn't do this--instead I refrigerated it overnight and then pulled the solidified fat off before reheating.) If the sauce seems thin, continue simmering until flavorful and thickened to a saucy consistency. (The next day it seemed both chunky and thin, so I ran it through the food processor and then heated in on medium-high for about half an hour before adding the duck. At which point it seemed really dry, so I added another ~cup of broth. So less reducing next time!)
• Discard the duck skin and shred the meat. Add the shredded meat to the sauce, along with the other 1/2 cup of broth if the sauce seems too thick. Let the sauce simmer gently for 15 minutes; discard the garlic and bay leaf (I didn't). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with cooked pasta and grated cheese, if you like.
• The ragù can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
This was solidly good, but didn't blow me away. I think if I were making it for red-meat eaters, I might try adding some pork (pancetta or prosciutto) or maybe a dash of red pepper flakes. On the other hand, the spinach that I sauteed in some of the duck fat to accompany it was really, really good. Duck fat FTW!
#11 Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries from this recipe. I only made a quarter-batch of the strawberries, which was plenty. For my first panna cotta, I think it turned out very nicely. I'd like for it to have been a little firmer--not sure what the best way to do that would be. More gelatin? Let the gelatin soak longer? Thoughts?
This entry was originally posted at http://lillibet.dreamwidth.org/585349.html. You can comment either place! There are
comments over there now.